Wal-Mart Abandons Kilbuck, Penn. Site
Wal-Mart Scraps Pittsburgh-Area Store [Forbes]
Wal-Mart will not build a store at a suburban hilltop construction site where a massive landslide last year closed a busy highway for two weeks, the retailer announced Wednesday.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said in a statement that it will return the hilltop in Kilbuck Township “to a predevelopment, natural sloping condition that includes trees and vegetation.”
Officials from Wal-Mart and the state Department of Environmental Protection met Tuesday to discuss the revised plan. In August, the department said Wal-Mart’s stabilization plan was incomplete. Wal-Mart has been trying to devise a plan that would stabilize the hillside to prevent another landslide.
Part of the site gave way Sept. 19, 2006, sending some 500,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris onto Route 65 and railway tracks below. One lane of the highway, a major artery to Pittsburgh’s western suburbs, remains closed.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, September 27 | 0 comments | Permalink
Kilbuck, PA. Citizens Group Demands Wal-Mart Stabilize Site
Group wants Wal-Mart to stabilize Kilbuck site [Pittsburgh Star Gazette]
Communities First! has asked the state to order Wal-Mart to permanently stabilize the old Dixmont State Hospital property in Kilbuck where the retailer was building a shopping plaza until 300,000 cubic yards of dirt and debris slid onto Route 65/Ohio River Boulevard more than a year ago.
In a letter sent yesterday to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the grassroots group formed to oppose construction of the Wal-Mart Superstore and River Pointe Plaza said the retailer “should be subject to a fully enforceable order requiring it to rectify the predictable result of its negligence” in trying to develop a landslide-prone property.
The letter, signed by Bob Keir, co-chairman of the group, also asked the DEP to set a deadline for the retailer to submit data and conclusions about what caused the landslide and make no decision on the company’s stabilization plan until Wal-Mart submits all data and a complete plan.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, September 26 | 0 comments | Permalink
Johnson City, NY. Village Board To Vote On Wal-Mart On Industrial Land
On May 12, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Newman Development Group had announced a proposed Wal-Mart superstore on Lester Avenue in Johnson City, New York. Newman Development, based in nearby Vestal, New York, wants to build a 130,720 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter on the site of the former Endicott Johnson Ranger Paracord site in the village. Newman Development has been trying to redevelop this property as a retail center for 14 years, the company claims. The Johnson market area already has a larger Wal-Mart supercenter in Vestal, which is only a five minute drive from Johnson. The Ranger Paracord site was a shoe factory for 80 years and was part of the Endicott-Johnson legacy of dozens of factories that spawned the company towns of Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott in what was once known as “the Valley of Opportunity.” Johnson City Mayor Harry G. Lewis has told the Gannett newspaper that he’s pleased Wal-Mart chose his village for its newest Supercenter. “We look forward to having Wal-Mart and its employees become a part of our community,” the Mayor said. Ironically, Johnson City has a Downtown Partnership--- a group focused on revitalizing downtown Johnson City. This Wal-Mart supercenter will give the Downtown Partnership plenty to work on for years to come.
Residents have formed a group called the Coalition for Positive Revitalization for Johnson City. One member told the Channel 10 News, “Johnson city needs positive revitalization. We just can’t afford to have another business come into this area that is detrimental to our local economy.” The group says Wal-Mart will generate too much traffic, have a adverse impact on the environment, and put mom and pop shops out of business. “Having a few hundred, what would amount to poverty wage jobs, with very little benefit is maybe better than having none,” another member said. “But the question is do we have to develop this right now?” The Coalition has another vision for Johnson City. They would like to see a high tech conference center. “The message is develop, don’t destroy. Wal-Mart will destroy our community, we need to develop our community.” The village board is expected to vote on the project next week. When the village board votes on October 2nd, they have to change the zoning from industrial to retail.
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Posted by Al Norman on Wednesday, September 26 | 0 comments | Permalink
New York Site Fight: Rally Time
Rally against proposed Wal-Mart to be held [News 10 Now - Syracuse, New York]
JOHNSON CITY, N.Y.—They are Johnson City residents, students, and business owners. Most joined through word of mouth, others during public hearings in recent months.
While the two dozen members of the recently formed Coalition for Positive Revitalization for Johnson City, have some different opinions, they have a similar goal in mind.
Coalition member Julie Deemie said, “Johnson city needs positive revitalization. We just can’t afford to have another business come into this area that is detrimental to our local economy.”
The group is against building a Wal-Mart at the proposed site on Lester Avenue for many reasons. Some are that the big box store could generate too much traffic, have a negative impact on the environment, and put mom and pop shops out of business.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Tuesday, September 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
New York Site Fight: Group Holds Protest Rally
CPR-JC hopes to halt Wal-Mart project [Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin]
JOHNSON CITY—In anticipation of an upcoming protest rally, organizers with the Coalition for Positive Revitalization for Johnson City held a news conference Monday to discuss their disapproval of plans to put a Wal-Mart Supercenter at a former Endicott-Johnson site.
“We have to show the village board just how many residents are against this retail development,” village resident Barbara Thompson, 69, said.
Each of the six CPR-JC members who attended the media event had a variety of objections to the large retailer. Some are against Wal-Mart stores in general, citing the low wages it often pays to its workers and other factors.
Others, such as Johnson City resident Julie Deemie, said the store will be a detriment to the economy, with much of the money spent by consumers going to company profits and not into other local businesses.
“The money does not stay in our community,” she said.
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Tuesday, September 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
Johnson City, N.Y. Coalition for Positive Revitalization Protests Wal-Mart
Some protest proposed Wal-Mart development [Press & Sun-Bulletin (N.Y.)]
In anticipation of an upcoming protest rally against Wal-Mart, organizers with the Coalition for Positive Revitalization for Johnson City held a press conference Monday to discuss their disapproval with a proposal to put a Wal-Mart at a former Endicott-Johnson site.
Each of the six CPR-JC members had a variety of objects to the large retailer moving to the site. Some are against Wal-Mart stores in general, citing the low wages it often pays to its workers and other factors. Others, like Johnson City resident Julie Deemie, said the store will be a detriment to the economy, with much of the money spent by consumers going to company profit, and not into other local businesses.
The village has plenty of retail already—citing Harry L Drive and the Oakdale Mall—but yet can’t fund repairs to roads and parks, Deemie said.
As a local business owner, the proposed Wal-Mart could cost him his life savings, said Bob Olcott, co-owner of Art Allure in Johnson City. The store, he said, was established in an existing building that he and his wife spent all of their savings to refurbish. Local businesses and the wages they must pay, Olcott said, can’t compete with the overseas labor costs of the products Wal-Mart sells.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, September 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
Johnson City, NY. Planning Meeting Scheduled
Planning board to discuss Wal-Mart [Press & Sun-Bulletin (N.Y.)]
A decision could finally be made at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday about a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter’s environmental impact.
The meeting will be held on the village court room at 31 Avenue C, Johnson City. The work session will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the police training room, which is located on the second floor of the village court house.
Planning board Chairman Gerald Putmansaid at a meeting earlier this month that he expects to have New York Department of Transportation feedback that will allow the board to make a decision on the project’s environmental impact. The Wal-Mart is proposed for a brownfield site at 90 Lester Ave., Johnson City.
A subdivision of the land into a 12.38-acre lot for the proposed Wal-Mart, and a 1.287-acre lot for retail/restaurant space is also planned to be discussed.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, September 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
Freetown, MA. Battle Rages Over Traffic
Opponents hope traffic solution will jam up Freetown mall [Boston Globe]
When officials from KGI Properties LLC heard about an 80-acre parcel of land on a former fly ash dump with access to a major highway, they saw opportunity - a prime location for a shopping center with two large retail stores.
But when Brian R. Dunning, who lives in the sleepy Payne’s Cove area, studied KGI’s plans for the 450,000-square-foot “Payne’s Crossing” development, he saw what he considers to be a pending disaster for Freetown.
The battle has raged ever since. Many residents, convinced that a Lowe’s home improvement store and a Wal-Mart are headed their way, have rallied to block the development they fear will choke their roadways, endanger threatened turtles, and pollute the bay. Their Assonet Bay Action Committee now boasts more than 300 supporters.
It is, by their own estimation, an uphill battle. Dunning offers this sober evaluation: “I think the odds are in favor of the developer. But it’s a little bit like David and Goliath. I just know that if this goes in, the town will be forever changed.”
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, September 25 | 0 comments | Permalink
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